Classic & Vintage - NOS Bicycle. Open or Closed Box?

Question..
An NOS vintage bicycle is for sale on ebay, advertised as still in the original UNOPENED box. It is the LAST of a "lot" and pictures of other bikes of that lot are available.

Would you.
A. Want the bicycle to remain "BOXED AND SEALED" as it has been since shipped from the factory. Shipped as-is with package strengthing as required.

B. Want the bicycle "UNBOXED", (but kept in the original packing configuation) inspected, inventoried, photographed and re-packaged in the original box.

B. Who is to say that the bike is not already damaged even though the current seller doesn't know.

Schrodinger's BIKE! (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Schr%C3%B6dinger%27s_cat)
It is both damaged and NOS in parallel universes until the box is opened.

My own opinion is that a bike in a box is a failed life.

I was thinking the exact same thing!

Do you plan on leaving it in the box? If so, then buy it sight unseen and just assume that the unopened box you receive contains a bike.

If you plan on using the bike, the box has to be opened some time by someone. Might as well be the seller, so that he and you both know what you are getting into.

Best of luck.

About 30 years ago I found an unopened bottle of Dom Perignon champagne, dated 1929, in a huge pile of trash removed from a house that was being vacated. I kept that thing like it was some kind of treasure until, a couple years later, my family was moving, so we opened it. No surprise, it had gone bad; in fact it tasted a lot like sherry, but not very good sherry. We poured it out. I would have been better off to leave the bottle unopened.

So my advice is, don't open your NOS, unopened, super rare, dream bike; you'll only ruin it.

Speaking of which, by the way, what IS your dream bike? I'm pretty sure I have one of those in my attic, in just the size you want, which I will be happy to sell you. 100% guaranteed to be just what you want! (sorry, no returns if the box is opened for any reason).

Is there any guaranty or warranty regading the contents and the condition of the contents inside the box? In the part-time mechanic gig I have opened up several new bikes to then find damaged items, or items damaged during the factory portion of the pre-build, or to discover items that were missing either from the factory box stuffing or having fallen out of the box somehow at some point prior to or during delivery.

I rarely buy those mystery grab bags at stores or thrift shops.

You could bid on the item with the pre-agreed stipulation between you and the seller that the box will be opened and the items inspected prior to payment by you without penalty or bad feedback if you decide upon seeing the inspection that the items inside the box are not up to your needs or desires.

Only you can decide what is a reasonable risk to take. For me, I'd want to see inside before bidding.

And for the record, sometimes a box can be opened up and resealed without appearing to have ever been opened, especially if the factory sealing wasn't too good to begin with. I don't buy cereal at the grocery store if the lid looks like it was re-glued, just as an example. Buyer beware.

The sound of the staples in the cardboard as you pull the top open..
Viewing a classic steel stead not seen since it was packed by an innocent young (Italian, English, Japanese, Martian, etc) virgin...
Opps. Wrong film.
Never mind

About 30 years ago I found an unopened bottle of Dom Perignon champagne, dated 1929, in a huge pile of trash removed from a house that was being vacated. I kept that thing like it was some kind of treasure until, a couple years later, my family was moving, so we opened it. No surprise, it had gone bad; in fact it tasted a lot like sherry, but not very good sherry. We poured it out. I would have been better off to leave the bottle unopened. ....


Wasn't there some story a few years ago where someone had bought some wine or something only to find out later that the bottoms of the bottles had been drilled and the original contents drained out and cheaper stuff squirted back into the bottles and then the small hole was filled with wax or something?

Always check the seal on the bottom as well as on the top.

It certainly is not worth the trouble to X-ray is it? :)
Just a thought...

If I am buying a bike it is to ride it. If I am buying a bike and having it shipped to me w/o seeing it in person, I want to know if is complete and in fine condition. Being the first one to open the box does not mean near as much as knowing it is OK.

schrodinger's bike! (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/schr%c3%b6dinger%27s_cat)
it is both damaged and nos in parallel universes until the box is opened.

My own opinion is that a bike in a box is a failed life.

+1000

damaged and NOS are not mutually exclusive. Schrodinger would have it damaged and undamaged in its uncollapsed wave form.

An excellent idea, btw.

open before buying... or else don't blame anyone if you get something really awfull.

Years ago my father met some guys selling factory sealed TVs from the back of a truck. He didn't buy one but some of his friends did. No surprise that when they got home they found that they had bought a box of rocks (not literally rocks but a weighted down box).

I've always said that you have to be half out of your mind to buy something sight unseen from a photo on the internet. The odds of not getting what you thought you were getting or not getting anything at all are pretty good but for some reason, the system works out more often than not.

I would be hesitant to accept that the description on the box was even accurate without opening it. If you bought a bike from Walmart, got it home and discovered it was the boy's frame instead of the girls, no big deal, you just return it. But what do you do with a valuable vintage NOS bike under those circumstances?

Perhaps you could have him do a Geraldo/Al Capone' safe live streaming video.of him opening the box & revealing the mystery contents. May it turn out better than Geraldo's

About 30 years ago I found an unopened bottle of Dom Perignon champagne, dated 1929, in a huge pile of trash removed from a house that was being vacated. I kept that thing like it was some kind of treasure until, a couple years later, my family was moving, so we opened it. No surprise, it had gone bad; in fact it tasted a lot like sherry, but not very good sherry. We poured it out. I would have been better off to leave the bottle unopened.
Hey! haven't you ever had Dom Perignon before? It tastes like bad sherry, and that's the good stuff!

I would just want it to arrive in NOS condition. Factory packing wasn't all that great.
There's a Cervelo P2K here on CL for 1150, still in the box, 54cm. If I had the dough, I'd take it either way.

this reminds me of the Little Prince's sheep.

Do you plan on leaving it in the box? If so, then buy it sight unseen and just assume that the unopened box you receive contains a bike.


http://www.thatguitarman.com/images/awesome-shot1.jpg


Perhaps you could have him do a Geraldo/Al Capone' safe live streaming video.of him opening the box & revealing the mystery contents. May it turn out better than Geraldo's

I remember watching that show. The 70's definition of Fail.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oleUvvjeOh4

It happened in 1986.

ok, so now I am interested, what was in the vault? I never saw any of that programing.

A wine bottle and a few scraps of newspaper I believe.

ok, so now I am interested, what was in the vault? I never saw any of that programing.

Nothing, just like what is in Geraldo's head. And it launched his career - go figure.


Question..
An NOS vintage bicycle is for sale on ebay, advertised as still in the original UNOPENED box. It is the LAST of a "lot" and pictures of other bikes of that lot are available.


Still have one left, eh? Sell it the same way you sold the rest, and be done with it. Personally, I'd prefer to inspect the contents of the box, if I were the potential buyer. IIRC, they were Univega's or something similar. Not like it's a Rembrant......... :)

How many more Centurions do you have? Are you going to drop the price to something reasonable? How about trying to sell it for the cost it was when it was new?

How many more Centurions do you have? Are you going to drop the price to something reasonable? How about trying to sell it for the cost it was when it was new?

If he sold them all (but this one), the price was reasonable - whatever it was.

Did someone mention Centurions? I've read the thread, can't find the Centurion.
Where's the Centurion? I'm a big fan. Centurion? Where? Which one? How many?
Whose Centurion?....pant, pant...

Did someone mention Centurions? I've read the thread, can't find the Centurion.
Where's the Centurion? I'm a big fan. Centurion? Where? Which one? How many?
Whose Centurion?....pant, pant...

Here you go - this oughta catch you up. Looks like he had Ralieghs and Centurions:

http://www.bikeforums.net/showthread.php?t=418035&highlight=
http://www.bikeforums.net/showthread.php?t=300399&highlight=
http://www.bikeforums.net/showthread.php?t=433767&highlight=
http://www.bikeforums.net/showthread.php?t=305992&highlight=

Here's his website:
http://citizenchain.com/1981%20Centurion%20Elite%20Gallery.htm

He bought a boatload of vintage OEM Raleighs and there was much discussion on whether they were real, if so where they were built, were they hot, etc.